Last fall in New York, the city was congested more than usual with the culmination of two large events: the People’s Climate March and the UN Climate Change Summit. Looking out into the street, I could see a wave of advocates--proudly adorning green and hosting up posters reminding the world of the urgency of climate change. In the corridors and vast chambers of the United Nations Headquarters, world leaders gathered to discuss the most prominent environmental issues of our time and their role in mitigating the effects of climate change--to lay a foundation for a new global climate-change treaty.

In attempt to garner support, Obama announced, “The United States has made ambitious investments in clean energy and ambitious reductions in our carbon emissions. Today I call on all countries to join us, not next year or the year that, but right now. Because no nation can meet this global threat alone”.

However, the summit also served to reveal that many countries were divided on issues like deforestation, carbon pollution and methane leaks from oil and gas production.

Lacking congressional support, the US rejected putting a price on carbon--a pledge signed by 73 nations. Similarly, Brazil refused to sign a pledge to halt deforestation by the year 2030--despite being home to the Amazon rainforest.

While Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli argued that the international community should not hold developing countries to the same standard as developing countries and allow them to emit more heat-trapping pollution. The Chinese Vice Premier raised legitimate points about whether developing countries should be held to the same accord as developed ones. Nonetheless, with President Obama claiming that "nobody gets a pass", can these two statements be reconciled?

Regardless, there were strides made in the right direction.

China being the number one carbon-polluting nation, stood in support of pricing carbon and promised to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions within the near future. Due to the tripling of China’s economic growth since 2005, China’s carbon pollution has skyrocket. In attempt to counteract these effects, China vowed to reduce its emissions by 45% from 2005 levels. In comparison to China’s previous promises, these are significant measures that China is promising to take.In the same vein, the European Union called for increasing renewable energy usage and cut backs on greenhouse gases. Most significant of promises made at the Summit was the deadline to end deforestation by 2030, supported by 150 countries. Those 150 countries includes U.S., Canada, and the European Union.If the deadline was met, the UN said that its effects would be similar to removing “every car in the world off the road”. This is because forests absorb the most prominent greenhouse--carbon dioxide.

However, Brazil’s refusal to join the initiative made the effectiveness of the deadline highly questionable. In fact, it only served to affirm the criticism that is often welded against these large scale events and undermined the promises many countries were making--alluding the summit to a dog with a big bark and with little bite.

Being well into the new year, the proposal’s formulated at the summit raise serious questions about whether there will be legitimate follow through. Will 2015 usher in a new wave of environmental consciousness? With countries like Brazil refusing to join initiatives to reverse wrongs they played a large role in, is there hope for sustainable and are large scale change? Has there been too much talk and far too little action?

With that said, I leave the floor to you! What are your thoughts? Let us know below.